Presidents Report

Our profession has rarely mattered more

Dear Twin Cities Members,

Our profession has rarely mattered more. Tariff volatility is making long-term sourcing feel like a moving target, Red Sea disruptions continue to stretch transit times, and roughly 400,000 manufacturing jobs sit open even as skilled talent stays hard to find. Add accelerating AI adoption across the shop floor, and the environment our local manufacturers operate in has fundamentally changed.

This is exactly when chapter community matters most. The conversations at our events and roundtables are how we make sense of complexity together — whether it’s a medical device planner sharing how they restructured supplier tiers, or a logistics manager explaining inventory positioning ahead of further trade shifts. No single company solves these problems alone. Our chapter exists so you don’t have to.

Credentials are the other half. ASCM’s CPIM remains the gold standard for production and inventory management. The CSCP builds the end-to-end, global-trade fluency this moment demands. And the Supply Chain Planning Certificate delivers the scenario modeling and demand-sensing skills that turn volatility into a competitive edge.

My ask is simple: pick one thing. Attend our next event and meet someone new. Enroll in the course you’ve been putting off. Encourage a rising team member to join. The headlines will keep bringing uncertainty — but the professionals in this chapter are among the most capable and generous I’ve had the privilege to work alongside. Thank you for being part of it.

Warm regards,

Emily LeVasseur
President, ASCM Twin Cities Chapter